


Dance: #27

by Ignisentis



Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [27]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dancing, Hot Guys Looking Hot In Tuxedos, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, charity galas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22643869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis
Summary: Bucky goes with Steve to a charity gala for the first time, and Steve finally gets to ask Bucky for a dance.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602352
Comments: 24
Kudos: 149





	Dance: #27

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Sebastian Stan for wearing black on black on black so often. It truly is an inspiring look.
> 
> I'm here on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ardeospina) if you want, my lovelies.

“What is it?” Bucky asks across the table when Steve groans. He holds up an extremely fancy invitation for Bucky to look at, then gives it to Bucky when he holds his hand out for it instead.

“What _ is _ this?” Bucky asks again, even though he’s read the invitation.

Steve sighs. “Charity gala. Tony or Pepper or their company or foundation, I don’t know the details, I try not to pay attention to that. Anyway, they hold charity fundraiser galas every so often, and they know I kind of hate going because the people there get all weird when they meet me and ask really impertinent questions, but they also raise more money when I’m there. So when it’s a cause they think I’d really like to help out, they invite me. Reminds me of my USO days a little, but it does really help. And it’s just one night.”

“What’s the charity this time?”

“Children’s hospital,” Steve says. “The foundation helps subsidize care, helps pay if parents need to miss work to be with their sick kids, that sort of thing.”

“Ah.” Bucky thinks of Steve, all sickly and pale and small, of his mother, of how incredible it would have been to have something like that available to them. Steve must be thinking about it, too, because his gaze goes very far away.

Bucky lets him remember for a little while before reaching out and placing his hand on the table, palm up. Steve blinks a few times at the movement, smiling a little as his eyes focus on Bucky’s hand. He rests his own gently on top of Bucky’s and threads their fingers together.

“Want me to come?” Bucky asks sincerely.

Steve looks up from their hands, surprised. “I...you want to do that? It’s a lot of interactions and fake smiling and people saying something you’ve heard a thousand times before and having to pretend they’re saying it for the first time so they feel clever and write a bigger check.”

Bucky shrugs one of his shoulders. “It’ll be like an undercover mission.”

“What’s the target?”

“Checkbooks. We’ll see if we can raise more money than any of these other charity galas.”

Steve tilts his head and just looks at Bucky, assessing him with a soft smile on his face. “You’d really do this for me?”

“Steve,” Bucky breathes. “Of course I would. Besides, I’m doing it  _ with _ you. It’ll be fun.”

“Maybe it will be,” Steve says, smiling softly.

There’s a knock on their door approximately two minutes after Steve texts Tony to let him know that both he and Bucky will be attending the gala, and when Steve pulls the door open, Tony himself is standing there, slightly out of breath. He holds up his phone with the text message displayed.

“Are you serious?” he asks, wheezing a little.

“Jesus, Tony, come in and get some water or something.”

“Steve, tell me you’re not joking.”

Steve looks over at Bucky, who’s come into the room with a glass of water for Tony, and rolls his eyes fondly. “We aren’t joking, Tony. We’ll both come, if that’s all right.”

“All right?  _ All right?!? _ This is the best news I’ve had in...weeks! Months! This is going to be awesome! Pepper is going to lose her mind!”

“Okay, let’s just...calm down a bit, though, huh? Please don’t make this into some big thing, okay? I’d really —”

“No, no, I get it,” Tony interrupts. “No publicity, no mention of you two in any press releases. You’re just attending as guests who will help talk people into spending money. Do I have that about right?”

Bucky sees Steve visibly relax when Tony says that, so he nods and adds, “and no speeches, please, Tony.”

Tony looks over at Bucky and tilts his head a little. “Fine. No speeches, unless you or Steve decide to do it. And you need a tux,” he says, pointing at Bucky. “Oh, Steve, you can get a new one at the same time. Coordinate or something.” He gasps a little. “That would be cute as fuck. Bucky, you and Steve can go with Pepper, she’ll love showing you the ropes on this.”

“She...will?” Bucky asks, unsure. Yeah, he’s become good friends with Pepper, but taking someone to get a tuxedo doesn’t sound like his idea of a good time.

But Tony doesn’t seem to even notice his hesitancy. “Oh, she sure will. I’ll have her set up the appointment with you guys, if that’s okay.”

“Uh…”

“Great! Got to go, left something in the lab, probably on fire by now. Bye!” Tony swoops back out of their apartment in the same kind of whirlwind he entered.

Bucky looks over at Steve, who just shrugs like “hey, I tried to warn you” which makes Bucky nod because that’s fair.

~~~

Pepper texted Bucky a time and an address about an hour after Tony left, the appointment for the very next day. He and Steve found their way to the address she’d given them, and Pepper was waiting for them outside, a coffee in her hand and a smile on her face.

“Steve, Bucky,” she says, leaning in to kiss each of them on the cheek. Bucky is used to it by now, but Steve tinges pink at the tips of his ears, which is the cutest goddamn thing. “Thank you for meeting me,” Pepper continues. “Steve has been fitted for a tux before and probably remembers what to do, but Bucky, you’ll be standing up on a pedestal while the tailor takes your measurements, so just stand still and let him do his work if you can, okay?”

“Uh, sure,” Bucky says. Sounds easy enough.

“Do either of you have any ideas or opinions about what you may want?”

“N-no?” Steve says. 

“I can decide for you, if you want.”

“Oh, thank god,” Steve sighs. “Yes, please do that, Pepper.”

Pepper smiles like Steve’s just given her a gift, and she turns to Bucky.

“Yeah, same,” Bucky says, and Pepper lights up even more.

“Let’s go inside,” she says, so he and Steve follow her in.

Getting fitted for a tuxedo is...different. Steve laughs at the face Bucky makes when the tailor measures his inseam, but mostly he sort of just...stands there and zones out. Not in a bad way. He kind of lets his mind wander and doesn’t really bother paying attention. 

The tailor pulls a few things when he’s done measuring, and Bucky tries them on diligently. He has to admit, the fabric feels nice against his skin, lush and fine. It’s not until he comes out from behind the dressing curtain in the last tux that he gets it, though. This one is black with a black shirt, and it feels like a whole lot of black, but whatever, not like he knows about fashion or anything.

He walks out, eyebrow raised. Pepper sits up a little straighter and Steve’s pupils dilate so fast Bucky’s almost worried.

“That one,” Steve croaks out, and Pepper just nods her agreement.

“An excellent choice,” the tailor says, grabbing his pins and chalk. He starts making marks on the fabric, and Bucky makes a little sound in the back of his throat. 

“He’s making notes about where he wants to take in the jacket and pants, Bucky, so they fit exactly to your body’s measurements. It will look even better when it’s done this way,” Pepper tells him, as Steve whimpers a little. Pepper just reaches over and pats him on the leg in a “there, there” motion.

“Oh,  _ Jesus,” _ Bucky groans about twenty minutes later when Steve comes out from behind the dressing curtain in a navy blue tux that looks downright sinful on him. Pepper just pats his leg in a “there, there” motion and nods to the tailor, who starts pinning and chalking, and honestly, Bucky thinks maybe he’s made a mistake with this whole charity event thing if he’s going to have to stare at Steve in that tuxedo all night long.

Pepper has them try on shoes next, then she takes them to some fancy jewelry place and has them look at watches. Bucky actually likes this part: some of the watches have lots of dials and knobs and are waterproof down to hundreds of feet, which is actually practical. He picks one with a black woven nylon band, black face with three little dials on it, three silver knobs on the side. It feels nice on his wrist when he tries it on, and Pepper very carefully makes sure he never sees the price, so he’s sure it’s pretty expensive.

He’s smiling when he hands it back to the salesperson, turning to find Steve and see what he’s picked out. Except Steve isn’t at the watch area. Frowning, Bucky starts looking around the store and sees Pepper walking back toward the watches, Steve on her arm. His cheeks are pinked, and he has the softest smile on his face. Pepper is telling him something, but she’s whispering, and they’re too far away even with his enhanced hearing. Steve nods at whatever she says, and Pepper reaches out to cup his face with her hand. Steve smiles at her before ducking his head, and it’s such a lovely, tender moment that Bucky feels a little bit like he’s intruded on something special.

Steve ends up choosing a fancy silver watch with an icy blue face, thin green rim around the glass, with an orange lightning bolt for a second hand. It’s sleek, kind of classic. It looks good on him, though he clearly thinks it’s overly extravagant. He asks Pepper if it will go with his tux okay or if it isn’t fancy enough, and she waves him off.

“Wear what you like and what makes you happy and forget whatever any stuffy socialite tells you. They’re all too far up their own asses anyway,” Pepper says. The salesperson snorts before they can help themself, their eyes widening as they look up at Pepper, but she just winks and asks for the watches to be boxed up and bagged, please, and to put the watches on the Stark account.

Steve insists that at least he be allowed to pay for lunch, which Pepper agrees to if she gets to choose the restaurant, so they all go to lunch after. Bucky calls Tony and has him meet them, and the four of them pass an entirely pleasant afternoon together.

~~~

The day of the gala arrives, and once Bucky had pulled his hair into a low bun, put on his tux and watch and shoes, he has to admit he can see the appeal. Because he looks  _ good. _ Steve insisted they get dressed in separate rooms for some reason, so once he’s ready, Bucky heads for their living area to wait for Steve.

Steve’s already there, though, fiddling with his phone. He looks up when Bucky approaches, and oh,  _ fuck, _ he looks so goddamn  _ hot:  _ the navy tuxedo brings out the blue in his eyes, and his hair is parted and slicked back like Bucky’s never seen before, and it is  _ working. _ Bucky feels all lit up, like a key on a kite during a storm, and Steve isn’t doing much better judging by the look on his face. He looks like he wants to devour Bucky whole, which sends a shiver up Bucky’s spine. He’s half inclined to let him, fuck the gala.

“Buck,” Steve chokes out, reaching out with one hand before dropping it, fingers curling into a fist. God, Bucky wants Steve to touch him  _ so damn bad. _

“Fuck the gala,” Bucky says, and Steve groans.

“Bucky…”

“Okay, I know we can’t, but. I definitely want to.”

“Yeah. Me too. God, Bucky, me too.”

“You look really good, Steve,” Bucky says, walking up to Steve and holding out his arm.

“So do you, sweetheart,” Steve says as he takes Bucky’s arm, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “You ready?”

“As ready as I can be,” Bucky tells him truthfully.

The gala is being held on one of the floors in the Tower, conveniently, so they just head for the elevator and Jarvis sends them to the correct floor. They walk in holding hands, and Bucky takes a few moments to look around. The decorations are incredible: there’s fabric swooping down from the ceiling to make the space feel more intimate, twinkling lights nestled in the folds. There are flowers everywhere, large centerpieces on the tables. There’s a dance floor and a large string...orchestra? Is the right word, maybe? Whatever, it’s fancy and there are like 12 people, so orchestra.

There are tables laden with food and servers walking around with trays of hors d'oeuvres and champagne. There’s also a bar where a bunch of people are milling around. 

“Let’s go find our table,” Steve says, leading Bucky to a table near the door with little name placards and table assignments. They find their names, written in looping calligraphy, and Steve laughs as he leads them back toward the tables.

“What?” Bucky asks.

“Pepper put us at her table with Tony, which was kind of her. Maybe to ease you in a little, make you feel more comfortable during dinner.”

“Aw, Pepper. She’s a good friend.”

Steve squeezes Bucky’s hand. “She is. I’m glad you have her.”

Bucky’s heart goes all gloopy at that, so he squeezes Steve’s hand back. They set their name cards down at the table, and Bucky grabs a flute of champagne from a passing server.

“Come on,” he says, “let’s go convince some rich people to donate some money.”

That turns out to be surprisingly easy. Bucky can’t believe the number of people who want to meet Steve — or, well, Captain America. Almost none of them bother to call him Steve, like he’s just some symbol and not a person. Steve takes it well, but it makes Bucky’s stomach roil, so he hides it by doing most of the talking for the two of them. He starts out with a “you know how Steve used to be sick all the time before the war, don’t you?” and launches into stories about how hard it was, how much it would have helped to have a program like this when they were growing up.

People eat it up with a spoon.

Then there’s dinner and speeches congratulating everyone on how much money they’ve raised so far, and how donations will be accepted until the end of the evening, how about a little bit more, and then more talking to people. The orchestra started up at some point after dinner, and there are couples dancing together to some slow song Bucky likes but doesn’t recognize.

Steve must follow his gaze because he’s ending the conversation with the people they’re currently talking to and leads Bucky away. He stops after a few feet and turns to face Bucky. 

“May I have this dance?” he asks, smiling.

Bucky sputters. “Really? You want to dance? You hate dancing!”

Steve’s smile widens. “Now, what ever gave you that idea?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe just every time we went dancing on a double date and you never actually danced?”

“Bucky Barnes, did you ever stop to think that maybe I wasn’t dancing not because I didn’t like it but because I wasn’t able to dance with the one person I  _ wanted _ to?”

Bucky feels his jaw drop.

Steve laughs at him. “I guess not.”

“ _ Christ _ , Steve.”

“So how about it? May I have this dance?”

“Yeah,” Bucky breathes. “Fuck. Of course you can.”

Steve beams at him and holds out his arm. Bucky gently places his hand on Steve’s forearm, and they walk to the dance floor together. He feels eyes watching them with every step they take, but he finds he doesn’t especially care. This is about him and Steve, and he’ll be damned if he lets any lookie-loos ruin it for them.

Steve stops when he finds a spot he likes, holding out his hand for Bucky. He takes it, and Steve wraps his arm around Bucky’s waist, pulling him close as they start to dance. Steve, as it turns out, is actually a pretty decent dancer. He leads them around the floor confidently, and it doesn’t take long for Bucky’s body to remember the steps, though he was always the one leading before. 

It’s nice, dancing with Steve. Better than nice, really, and it only gets better the longer they dance, the more they learn how to move together like this. Steve can’t stop smiling at Bucky, and it’s making his stomach flutter and flip. He feels bubbly and giddy and so, so young.

Bucky feels laughter bubbling up his lungs, so he lets it out as Steve swoops him around. Steve leans in for a kiss before swirling them around again, and Bucky lets out another breathless laugh. He feels light, buoyed by Steve’s golden smile, his deft feet. He feels cherished.

They dance and dance until the evening is wearing down, the orchestra playing one last, slow song. Steve is holding him close, smiling as he gazes into Bucky’s eyes.

“I never thought we’d get to have this, you know?” Steve whispers, like he’s scared if he lets the thought out someone will tear them apart.

“I do,” Bucky nods. “Was it everything you hoped it would be?”

“Nah,” Steve says, leaning down for a soft kiss. “It was better.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested, this is Bucky's watch.
> 
> And this is Steve's. My grandfather had a Rolex that he handed down to my dad when I was a kid, so I have a soft spot for Rolexes. A soft spot but not the budget!


End file.
